ABOUT

Daniel Flannery is an American artist and storyteller, conceptualist, producer, theatre director, scenographer, film/television director, director of photography and lighting designer. Flannery has created award-winning visual, aural, theatrical and media productions around the world. He is regarded as a Visual Maestro and recognized for being a visionary and pioneer of emerging entertainment technologies.

Born and raised in New York, Flannery began his career in theatre and television at a very young age. His education and training in New York City was key to his successful career path. Today Flannery is actively engaged in creating and developing original content for live productions, new media, film and television.

Theatrical Productions

The Illusion Show was a grand opera scale live production show in Changzhou, China. Flannery was commissioned to create this show incorporating 3D stereoscopic scenography as a featured element of the show. The stage and house was wrapped with LED walls upon which 3D stereoscopicCGIcompletedthe scenography. The audience wore active 3D glasses and the effect was true immersion. The production featured an international cast of 100performers.

Flannery brought his core creative team to Budapest and directed Xayron, a science fiction production show, with a fire breathing dragon, robotic warriors, flying creatures, spiders, illusions and water onstage.

Overseas Chinese Town Limited engaged Flannery to create a western style production show. The show was “E” Elements Show. The production featured a variety of dancers, acrobats, synchronized swimmers, singers, musicians, magicians, and puppets. The show ran for five years at the Huaxia Art Centre in Shenzhen, China.

Flannery collaborated with Oscar Winner, Production Designer Eugenio Zanetti. Together they created Movistar Magica which toured throughout Colombia. The tour kicked off with a live broadcast on network television from Bogotá, Columbia. The show was presented in parks and stadiums, featuring 500 performers on a stage that filled a football field.

Maryland celebrated the anniversary of their statehood with VOYAGE 350. The Department of Tourism for the City of Baltimore commissioned Flannery to collaborate with them to create a theatrical experience on Rash Field at the Inner Harbor for this celebration. Flannery and his team conceived and designed a food and beverage area that consisted of facades based on Maryland’s early architecture. The main attraction was a 1200 seat theatre, inspired by tall ships, presenting an original stage production. The show was directed by Flannery and written by Cindy Flannery. The show featured actors portraying the ship’s crew with historical paintings and photographs from the Peale Museum projected onto the sails and theatricalillusions.

3D Stereoscopic Dome Films

Majid and the Secret of Life is a 3D stereoscopic film presented several times a day in the Dana Dome, a purpose-built theatre at Kahramaa Awareness Centre (a edutainment centre on sustainability in Doha Qatar). Conceived, cowritten and directed by Flannery the film, created in 3D CGI, explores the origins of water on our planet through a young boy’s dreamjourney.

SYMPHANTASY®

In 1977 Flannery was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to create the original Star Wars Concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Flannery designed and directed the concert incorporating theatrical lighting, lasers, pyrotechnics and special effects. The concert was a landmark world event and Flannery was thrust into the spotlight and began his journey of pioneering a new concert genre, SYMPHANTASY®. Flannery collaborated for decades with Maestro Erich Kunzel. Their first endeavor was The Symphonic Visual Fantasyin 1978 with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Music Centre. Flannery’s SYMPHANTASY® was presented as an annual event at the Riverbend Music Center with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Erich Kunzel.

Flannery is the only scenographer to ever appear at Carnegie Hall in New York as a “Guest Artist”. It was 1988, in concert with conductor Maestro Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.

World Expos

Flannery is a pioneer in the creation of water based attractions. He created Water Fantasium, the main attraction in the Dairinkai Pavilion for the Osaka 1990 World Expo (the international Garden and Greenery Exposition). It was voted by the Japanese media as the Fair’s leading attraction.

For the Taejon, South KoreaWorld Expo 93 Flannery createdFantastic Odyssey.After the Expo closedthe attraction was relocated to a permanent location at Lotte World in Seoul.

For theBrisbane Australia World Expo 88, Flannery served as associate to Artistic Director John Truscott and as principal site lighting designer.

The1984 Louisiana World Expositionpresented an ‘Aquacade‘ in the tradition of Billy Rose’s Aquacade. Flannery designed the lighting for this attraction.

Themed Entertainment

WED (now Walt Disney Imagineering contracted Flannery as a scenographic and lighting design consultant on EPCOT for American Adventure, Journey Into the Imagination and Kitchen Kabaret.

For Universal Studios Hollywood, Flannery served as lighting designer, conceptualist and scenographer for on such attractions as E.T. Adventure, Kongfrontation, The Adventures of Conan: A Sword and Sorcery Spectacular, and Back to the Future: The Ride. For Universal Studios Florida, he was scenographer and lighting designer on E.T. Adventure, King Kong, and Jaws. Flannery was the principal architectural sitelightingdesignerforUniversalStudios Florida and Islands of Adventure.

Cosmic Symphonywas an attraction Flannery created for Geopolis at the Tokyo Dome. The attraction ran from 1995 to 2007.

In 1996, he was principal designer for Adventure Slots in the Hollywood Casino which won the THEA Award forOutstanding Achievement in Themed Entertainment. The project was a huge profit centre for the casino and the conceit became a model for other casinos.

Television and Motion Pictures

In 1978, Flannery relocated to Los Angeles, California and joined the ABC Television Network as Lighting Director. While atABChereceivedhisfirstPrime-timeEmmyNominationforhislightingdirectionofGoldie Hawn &Liza Minnelli Together.

As the Director of Photography for the popular television series, ‘Roseanne’, Flannery revolutionized sitcom lighting design and received four Prime-time Emmy nominations.

Olympic Ceremonies

The LAOOC contracted Flannery as a conceptualist working directly with David Wolper and Tommy Walker on the Closing Ceremonies of the Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympics. Once the ceremonies were conceived the LAOOC contracted Flannery to direct and his firm to supervise the special effects and special lighting of the Closing Ceremonies. This included designing the infamous spaceship and alien.

In Universal Studios’ bid to produce the ceremonies for the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympic Games, Flannery served as conceptualist and Artistic Director.

Concerts

Flannery directed In the House of Ethel, in 2007 Winter Solstice feast of musiccelebration at the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden in New York City. The concert featured magicians Raja & Jarret and poet Harry Smith.

For The Sonny & Cher Concerttours, their final years together 1977-1979 he was scenographer and lighting designer. He continued to work with Cher on her shows including the Black Rosetour.

Also in 1980, he was the special effects consultant for Kenny Loggins’ Keep the Fire concert at the Universal Amphitheater.

His photos appear on the album ofNeil Diamond’s live concert Love at the Greek, recorded at the Greek Theater in 1977.

Events

In 1979 the New Orleans police went on-strike and Mardi Gras was cancelled. City officials worked with State Marshalls which had jurisdiction over the Superdome and working with presenter Blaine Kern and Flannery as director and designer, staged Bacchus Mardi Gras in the Superdome. He returned to the Superdome in 1986 with his associate John Truscott to conceive the 1986 NFL Super Bowl XX Halftime Show.

Theater

In the early 1970s Flannery began his career as a lighting designer in New York City working on and off Broadway. Credits included Augusta and original plays presented by the Chelsea Theater Centre, Ice Age and The Family Parts 1-4. Flannery also freelanced with Jules Fisher & Assoc.

Theater Consultant

From 1980 to 1982 Flannery relocated to Australia to collaborate with two-time Oscar-winning production designer John Truscott as lighting design consultant for the design and building of the Victorian Arts Centre (now the Arts Centre Melbourne).

Academic Career

Flannery taught at the USC University of Southern California, UCLA University of California Los Angeles, Art Center College of Design, and State University of New York and the UCSB University of California Santa Barbara.

Affiliations

As an active member of numerous guilds, unions and trade organizations, Flannery maintains membership with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Producers Guild, Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, International Cinematographers Guild, InternationalEntertainmentBuyersAssociationandUnitedStatesInstituteofTheatre Technology. He served on the Executive Committee of the Motion Picture and Television Fund for the Golden Boot Awards from 2000 to 2007. He served as President of the Manhattan Chapter of Muscular Dystrophy Association from 1972 to 1976. Today he is a volunteer Creative Director with Teen Cancer America.

Education

While attending a New York high school Flannery began interning with Lighting Director, William Greenfield, at CBS Television on The Ed Sullivan Show from 1968 to 1970.

Flannery is a graduate of the prestigious designers’ program at Lester Polakov’s Studio and Forum of Stage Design in New York City. He attended the Studio on a full scholarship. The school promoted the idea of conceptual-based designing. All the teachers in the school were working professionals and courses included scenic design, scene painting, still-life sketching, mask making, script analysis, costume design and lighting design.

In 1974, he continued his education at Columbia University in the Film Program. There he studied with filmmaker Scott Bartlett. He furthered his theatre studies at HB Studio with Herbert Berghof and Uta Hagen.